Hiddink: I turned down Leicester job

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Cape Town - Guus Hiddink, the man appointed to save Chelsea's disastrous season, has admitted to turning down the Leicester City job and says he no regrets over his decision.

Hiddink would feel that there was a particular synchronicity to it being his Blues team that ultimately gave the Foxes their Premier League title on Monday. The Dutchman told De Telegraaf that he had turned down the King Power Stadium job before Claudio Ranieri was offered it.

But he still managed to play a vital role in Leicester's championship victory by guiding his side to two-goal comeback against the leaders' only remaining title rivals, Tottenham.

"It is true that Leicester asked me [to be their coach] for this season," Hiddink said. "But I had decided to rest at that time and I wanted to do just nothing."

Speaking of his managerial stint at Chelsea, the second time he'd been asked to perform this role in an interim capacity, Hiddink admitted that relegation had been a possibility for the defending champions.

"The club was in a negative flow and there was panic," he said. "It was my task to restore a calm atmosphere and that happened. If we kept losing, even a club like Chelsea could have gotten into big problems.

"Just like nobody expected that Leicester would become champions, that [relegation] could have happened.

"It turned out to be a great half season and I want to close it with good performances in these last three matches.

"I don't regret it for one moment that I said 'yes' to Chelsea. The Premier League is fantastic and I got to experience that for a second time."

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